


statice and daffodil

by lunalis (beomrebi)



Series: 10 Last Stars With TXT [5]
Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Babysitter Kang Taehyun, Comfort, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Love Confessions, M/M, Minor Character Death, One Shot, Original Character(s), Single Dad Choi Soobin, Single Parent AU, Single Parent Choi Soobin, Taebin - Freeform, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, beomjunkai get like one line each, they're not dating but they might as well be, we need more single parent aus pls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:00:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28262025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beomrebi/pseuds/lunalis
Summary: "you’ve been sleeping at mine because your house is being renovated and we aren’t even dating, yet every time you wake up to the baby crying and sigh, “i’ll go” i feel like we might as well be married" AUtaebin for 10 last stars event!
Relationships: Choi Soobin/Kang Taehyun
Series: 10 Last Stars With TXT [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2066631
Comments: 16
Kudos: 68
Collections: 10LastStarsWithTXT





	statice and daffodil

**Author's Note:**

> merry christmas!! i hope you all enjoy your christmas, wherever you are and whoever you are with! this isn't exactly the brightest fic to post on christmas but oh well xD
> 
> this one's long but ngl i enjoyed writing this way too much and will most definitely write a proper single parent au fic one day (most likely set in the same universe as this fic)!! 
> 
> title explanation/flower meanings at the end!
> 
> thank you for reading and i hope you enjoy it! please note the minor character death warning + grief/mourning tag, as it _is_ a single parent au. 
> 
> **disclaimer:** this is purely fictional and written for entertainment. this piece of writing has nothing to do with the real idols, so please don't take anything seriously from this fic. it is in no way representative or reflective of the real idols.

The first thing Soobin registers is the wailing and familiar cries that pierce through the silence of the night (or rather, early morning). The second thing is that he can’t open his eyes, because he’s so damn tired and his whole body is exhausted. The third thing is that there is a warmth next to him, cuddling his side, although soon escaping him. 

“I’ll go.” 

Soobin hums with approval and tries to force his eyes open, despite how heavy they feel. He rubs his bleary eyes, thick with sleep, just in time to watch as Taehyun stretches and walks out of the room wordlessly, making his way to the nursery next door. Taehyun always goes without complaint, and for that, Soobin is more than grateful. He laments the loss of warmth and snuggles himself up in the blanket, trying to stay awake and to not succumb to the tempting prospect of sleep. 

“Hey, Minnie, sweetie.” He hears Taehyun coo. “Shh… it’s okay. I’m here. Nothing to be scared of.” 

Soobin is glad that Minyoung has a more regular feeding pattern, unlike the early days when he couldn’t discern her cries like her mother could. He’d be bouncing Minyoung, attempting to comfort her, and she’d say, “No, she’s hungry” and laugh, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. There were just some things that Yeona would know, calling it her “mother’s instinct”, and Soobin wishes she were still here to look after their daughter, meeting her every need. Being a single father meant that it took a little more effort for Soobin to figure it out, although he’s gotten the hang of it by now. Ever since she passed away three months ago, things haven’t been the same. 

Although, Soobin is grateful for Taehyun, always so willing to look after little Minyoung and care for her as if she were his own. These nights, it’s usually a lack of attention and affection, or the fear of waking up alone that troubles the young baby. Taehyun, knowing that Soobin has been struggling with sleep for a while, comforts her without hesitation. He hears Taehyun sing her to sleep, his silky voice filling the apartment as Minyoung’s cries grow quieter and she eventually falls back to sleep. In moments like these, at 3 in the morning, Soobin falls in love all over again. 

It’s only been a week since Taehyun’s apartment building started their renovations and he’s been staying with them, and three weeks since he’s been babysitting full-time. But Taehyun has already had such an impact on the both of them, helping Soobin wherever he can and lessening the load of being a single parent. Soobin never realised just how hard he was running and overexerting himself until Taehyun entered his life. 

It was only a month ago when Beomgyu introduced the two, going on about how he was in disbelief that they hadn’t met earlier, since he knew the two would be great friends without a doubt. Beomgyu had simply told Soobin that he needed more friends, and someone to help him with the baby. After all, Soobin was struggling with an office job, trying to keep up with rent and paying for Minyoung’s daycare, all while providing for the both of them adequately. Taehyun was still job hunting, but he volunteered to look after Minyoung without thinking twice, and even refused when Soobin offered to pay him. 

“Don’t worry about it, hyung. I saved up a lot of money from my part-time jobs during high school and university.” Taehyun smiled. 

In the first place, Taehyun never batted an eye when Soobin showed up to their lunch with Beomgyu with a baby sleeping in a stroller. He simply cooed at her and adored her from the moment he saw her, and Soobin found it endearing. He’d gotten used to the looks of pity or judgement from being a single father, but Taehyun accepted him as he was. 

Of course, Soobin had his doubts when Taehyun offered to look after her while he was at work, more worried about Minyoung’s reactions to a stranger than anything else, but Taehyun picked up his bundle of joy and she smiled back at him, and he _knew_. There was nothing to worry about after all. Although she was a much calmer baby, growing by the day, Soobin knew it was no easy feat to look after a baby full-time, so he did as much as he could to help Taehyun. Taehyun had free access to their apartment and food, and Soobin often bought dinner for the three of them or cooked when he could. He made an extensive manual on how to look after Minyoung, and added things like her favourite distractions or what helped her sleep most effectively. He even treated Taehyun to lunch every Sunday. They eased into a regular routine, and Soobin only found more reasons to love Taehyun. 

Soobin loved the way that he could cheer up Minyoung so easily, pulling funny faces or playing with her, and how sometimes, she couldn’t calm down unless she was in Taehyun’s arms, being rocked to sleep. He should have probably been jealous, but with such a perfect picture of his baby with someone who wasn’t her parent, Soobin couldn’t be anything but overjoyed. 

In saying that, sometimes the waves of grief hit him harder than ever before. ‘It only gets harder as time goes on’, he remembered someone saying. He missed Yeona, and that was the simple truth. He had to look after Minyoung alone for two months, and even though he had support from his friends and family, it was still hard. He couldn’t afford to let his parents stay over, and although they considered moving to Seoul permanently, he couldn’t let them leave their life behind, all to look after his baby. And sending Minyoung off to his parents definitely _wasn’t_ an option. He couldn’t bear to go even twelve hours without his daughter. Soobin convinced himself that he would be okay, when in reality, he wasn’t. Sometimes he wonders if he even had the time to grieve properly, being forced to comfort his crying baby who didn’t understand why she couldn’t feel her mother or hear her familiar sweet voice again, while working out his finances and budgeting. His job only paid an average wage, hence why Soobin had to return to work only three weeks later, for fear of losing more money than he could catch up with. 

The one thing he grieved the most, other than the loss of his wife, was the time he’d lost with Minyoung. Because she was so young, the daycare had a difficult time with her, and he felt immensely guilty for both burdening the daycare and for leaving her with strangers, but he didn’t have a choice. When they returned home, he’d spend as much time as he could with her, although her irregular sleeping habits didn’t help Soobin’s already deteriorating health at all. He was just worried about the emotional trauma that she might develop, or the separation anxiety that he’d been warned about. His greatest fear was that one day, he’d take little Minnie in his arms, and she wouldn’t recognise him anymore. 

Honestly, if he looks back on it, Soobin is surprised he survived that long. It definitely wasn’t sustainable, and if anything, he’s just glad that Minyoung is okay and healthy and safe. He’d give up everything for her, and sometimes he wonders if he almost did. 

On the third-month anniversary of her death, Taehyun was there, patient and comforting as always, holding Soobin and whispering sweet words as he broke down in his arms. That was Soobin’s belated grieving breakdown, as he calls it. All of the pain had been bottled up for too long, until it burst, unable to stay closed any longer. That night, Taehyun had even slept with Soobin, with little Minyoung in between them, hoping to console him and give him the warmth he so desperately missed. It was the best night they’d ever had in three months. 

Ever since then, Soobin only fell harder, watching how selfless and understanding and loving Taehyun was. The other thing was that Taehyun knew his boundaries. He wasn’t Minyoung’s parent, and he felt as if he shouldn’t assume the role, so he always checked with Soobin before he’d go to check on her, or asked if Soobin wanted him to feed her this time. Taehyun loved Minyoung just as much as Soobin did, and he admired that. There was a sliver of hope that Taehyun loved him too. Although, that hope didn’t last long, as Soobin was hit by guilt, wondering if it was okay to fall in love with someone else (let alone a man) so quickly after her death. How was he supposed to explain to her or to anyone that the month in which Taehyun entered his life was the most wonderful and amazing month since she’d died? It was almost as if Taehyun comforting him and _being there for him_ only encouraged him to fall harder. 

Although, it’s not like Soobin is replacing Yeona. No, it will never be like that. Because Soobin will always love Yeona, his first love, and the child that she left behind so dearly, and he will never _forget_ her. No, in fact, a little bit of Yeona now lives in Minyoung, and if anything, it’ll only become clearer as Minyoung grows up. Soobin remembers her every day, and he’s so so thankful to her for the love they had together, and for the gift of Minyoung to his life. 

He hadn’t even told anyone that he had fallen in love with Taehyun, and yet Yeonjun said, “She’d want you to be happy, whether that includes finding new love or not” as if he had a suspicion. He was even confused when Taehyun’s friend, Kai, came over and commented (when Taehyun was tending to Minyoung), “Taehyunnie would be a great parent, wouldn’t he?”, causing Soobin to blush. 

So yes, Soobin did feel guilty about falling in love so easily, but once he came to the realisation that he still loves Yeona just as much, it stopped eating him up so much. He just hoped that other people would understand that. 

And besides, Soobin doesn’t even know how Taehyun feels. Maybe Taehyun wouldn’t even want to commit to such a relationship, basically adopting a daughter and taking care of a man who just lost his wife. Soobin would be the worst person in the world if he were to push those responsibilities onto Taehyun out of nowhere. Heck, Soobin didn’t even know if Taehyun was romantically interested in him. All he knew was that Taehyun loved his baby, and he wanted to help Soobin as much as he could, probably because he was overwhelmingly kind and a natural sweetheart. 

Eventually, Taehyun returns to bed, and Soobin immediately latches back onto him, nuzzling his neck and drinking in his warmth. Having someone to sleep beside him is a privilege that Soobin never knew he’d lose so quickly. It’s a privilege that Taehyun has allowed him to enjoy, and one that Soobin wishes he could enjoy for the rest of his life, with Taehyun by his side. 

“Will you marry me?” 

At this point, Soobin is still sleepy and probably half-drunk in slumber, mind hazy as he cuddles Taehyun’s smaller figure. But Taehyun just laughs and it’s so beautiful that Soobin falls in love with it. 

“Soobin, dear, it’s 3AM. You’re not thinking straight. You haven’t even taken me out on a date.” He finally says softly, running his hands through Soobin’s messy hair and soothing him. 

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while.” Soobin says lazily. 

“Bin, I don’t want to rush you. You know I can wait until you’re ready, right?” 

This is the first time Taehyun has expressed his feelings for Soobin, and it’s more endearing than Soobin ever expected. Taehyun understands. He understands that the wound is still fresh, barely a scar, and yet he’s willing to wait, no matter how long it takes. 

“Does that mean you love me back?” Soobin looks up at him, the only light source coming from the nightlight in the hallway. 

“Yes. Yes it does.” Taehyun smiles. “But it also means that I’m not going anywhere, and that I’m here to help you with Minyoung until you feel ready to pursue a relationship again.” 

“Okay.” Soobin whispers and takes his hand and kisses it. “I feel ready, and I think Yeona would want this for me. For us. She’d absolutely love you to bits. But let’s talk about it more in the morning. I’m tired.” 

“Okay, love.” Taehyun kisses his forehead. “Sleep well.” 

“With you, I always will.” Soobin smiles and lets himself drift into a blissful sleep, warm and content by Taehyun’s side.

**Author's Note:**

> can i just say that i researched for this fic (mostly baby habits lol) and honestly even just writing about soobin's coping process and parenting in general made me really appreciate parents. also, the prompt made things a bit interesting in terms of timing and all, so if there are things that don't make sense, i'm sorry! ><
> 
> statice - fond memories, remembrance  
> daffodil - new beginnings, rebirth. "It became associated with new beginnings (and the coming of spring) because it is one of the first perennials to bloom after the winter frost." 
> 
> the alternate title was "love not forgotten and the warmth that i missed", but i thought, if i can express that in flowers, that's even better! so honestly, have both lol 
> 
> anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to read this! i hope you liked it as much as i liked writing it and exploring this au. 
> 
> please leave a kudos if you liked this, or a comment if you'd like to give me some feedback!  
> otherwise, please come talk to me, say hi, get to know me, or scream at me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/beomieggyu)!  
> also feel free to drop a comment or question on my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/beomieggyu)!


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